Beautiful Scars

Flying Truth

As the car moved on without any immediate crashes, Ally gained confidence and picked up speed. She tried to look as natural as possible as she neared the hotel.

In front of the Grenwood, there was a mass of people. Even from the car, Ally could tell that it was mainly teenage girls. Some were shrieking, some were crying, some were laughing and Ally knew that somewhere in the middle of all those girls was Harry. Part of her wanted to laugh, another part felt sorry for him, but it did not matter because the strongest part knew thatt despite it all, she had to keep driving. So she did, maneuvering around the mass and turning into the parking lot. As she did so, (with remembering to switch on her turning signal, a fact of which Ally was very proud) a few people turned to examine the car that was pulling in. No one gave it much attention, but one girl, with long blond hair, did bother to look to see who was driving. The blonde made eye contact with Ally, and despite the fact that Ally knew it would be better to keep her head down, she could not look away. The blonde's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. Ally cursed herself.

We're done for, she thought. Somehow, I blew it already. She knows, she knows that Louis is in the back seat! But then, the blonde looked away, and turned back to the mass of people, continuing to push her way closer to Harry. Ally realized the look that crossed the girl's face was not one of elation, but of concern. And Ally realized it was not Louis that made her look that way, it was herself. Ally's torn clothing, bloodshot eyes, and of course, the terrible cut on her cheek. Her heart sunk as she realized what a mess she must look like. It seemed strange that after the trouble she had run into tonight, she would still be concerned about her appearance. But, Ally was still a teenage girl, and no teenage girl can stand to be looked at like that without feeling a blow. Especially not when she is with her celebrity crush.

But Ally did not slow the car. Instead, she drove through the parking lot, trying to get as far as possible from the fans.

"There's our entrance," Louis said from the back. Ally looked out her window to see a thin paved pathway up to a door marked "Employees Only".

"Yay," Ally remarked, as un-enthusiastically as that word can sound. She parked as close as she could get, exhaling a sigh of relief as she turned the car off. She had always had parking troubles. Fortunately, the spot she chose only had a car on one side, so she had some room. "Alright." She turned her body to face Louis in the back. His head had drooped down, but he was still sitting upright. "You ready to move?"

He picked his head up and met her gaze steadily. "As ready as I'll ever be," he responded with that familiar smirk.

"Okay," Ally said in a way that implied she did not trust him, but she also did not have any other options. She swung open her door and climbed out. She opened Louis' door for him and he too, stepped out, using one of the many boxes for support as he put his weight on his legs.

Ally had not moved from when she had opened the door, so as he stood, they were only a few inches apart. He was a good couple of inches taller than her, and Ally had to look up to meet his gaze. He seemed to stand fine, but concern was crashing over Ally. She noted the many bruises on his face and it was if their proximity caused no time to pass at all. She saw Trey's fist come flying down, saw Kaleb kicking, heard herself, do nothing but scream. "Louis," Ally began at the same time Louis said,

"Ally." He chuckled. "How about we wait until we get to the room to talk?"

Ally nodded, his voice having broken whatever spell had held her there. "Come on." Ally stepped back and walked in front of the car. Louis closed the door and as he did so, Ally was too busy trying to figure out how to lock the car that she was not able to register the tight grip he kept on it, needing it for support. So then, as Louis steeled himself and tried to step away, Ally was not expecting him to need help. But he stumbled almost immediately, his weight too much for him to carry alone.